September marks National Recovery Month — a time to recognize those who have been affected by substance use or mental health issues, including those who have been impacted by the opioid crisis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 128 people die every day from opioid-related drug overdoses. This year marks an especially challenging time due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on opioid overdose rates, in addition to the ongoing overprescribing of opioids — resulting in an increased vulnerability for patients. 

Managing big data is essential to organizational efficiency and patient safety, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fully integrated with MEDITECH’s EHR, Business and Clinical Analytics (BCA) provides clinicians and decision makers with a single source of truth for critical information, giving staff real-time access to metrics that uncover insights to help them provide the best care possible.

Here are 3 success stories showing how healthcare organizations have used BCA to ensure staff are equipped with the right data and resources to provide quality care.

In healthcare, patient safety and quality of care are the highest priorities. As President of Healthien Inc. healthcare consulting services, I help providers meet these priorities by addressing pharmacy and order management-related issues that could result in adverse patient events.

In my experience, the most effective way to maximize patient safety is by having an automated clinical decision support system (CDSS) that protects patients from errors and omissions, while also streamlining providers’ workflows. Creating this type of CDSS requires innovation and a customizable EHR like MEDITECH Expanse.

This year, Patient Experience Week is taking on a whole new meaning. Consumers, who once may have rated their healthcare providers based on cafeteria food or convenient appointment times, are now shifting their focus to the most important question at hand — how are you helping to keep me safe during this pandemic? 

The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to test modern healthcare in ways never seen before. Physicians and nurses worldwide are being called to service, risking their own well-being to help an alarming volume of ill and worried patients. How we manage this emergency depends largely upon the quality of tools available to help us improve safety for our patient and clinician communities.

These tools include technologies that can help slow the spread of this new, highly transmissible virus through social distancing, allowing us to work with patients to determine the most appropriate venue of care.

When it comes to ensuring patient safety, everyone has a role to play. Patient Safety Awareness Week presents a valuable opportunity for healthcare organizations to promote safety awareness in their communities, and to continue to think of ways in which they might make patient safety part of their workplace culture. 

To close out the week, I asked MEDITECH clinical staff to share personal experiences that inspired their commitment to ensuring patient safety, and the direction in which they see healthcare heading. As they show us, it’s real people with real stories who are driving change in healthcare. 

The World Health Organization estimates that 134 million adverse events occur each year due to unsafe care in hospitals in low- and middle-income countries, resulting in some 2.6 million deaths, with most adverse events being preventable. 

As physicians, we often don’t see the harm that opioid pain medications can cause to the individual, whether through side effects, dependence, or diversion. Also, we may not always consider the implications on the national scale; prescription drug overdose deaths have increased exponentially from 2013 to 2016. The magnitude of this crisis has led to pain management guidelines from numerous entities, such as the Joint Commission and the CDC. These recommendations provide a solid foundation for opioid stewardship and are now considered to be best practice.  

National Recovery Month  sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is observed every September to educate Americans that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with mental and substance use disorders to live healthy, rewarding lives.

Unsafe medication practices and medication errors are a leading cause of harm around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the cost associated with medication errors is around $42 billion USD annually. Likewise, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) has documented over $140 million Canadian dollars in direct and indirect healthcare expenditures due to preventable medication hospitalizations, with lost productivity (including time off work) adding an additional $12 million in costs.